A sublime mix of tunes put together by Jazzanova to celebrate the 5th anniversary of their groundbreaking radio show – one that features 6 completely exclusive tunes, plus a wealth of other great bits from a variety of different artists! The vibe here is laidback and mellow, yet still plenty soulful – almost in the Secret Love territory explored by Jazzanova in earlier years, but with a fair bit more electricity overall, and a really global sort of consciousness in the soulful vocals on the tunes! Even when things get a bit abstract, they're still plenty funky – and there's a crisp, crackling sensibility that unites all the different tracks in the mix. 20 tracks in all – including "Just A Lil Lovin" by Jazzanova & Outlines, "In The Remix (Starship interpretation)" by Capital A, "Candlelight" by Wahoo, "Or At Least" by The Slapped Eyeballers, "Excelsior" by Ame, "Intermission" by Soulphiction, "Flashback (Jazzanova's mashed bag)" by Fat Freddy's Drop, "Skitsophrenic (part 2)" by Leroy & Darnell, "Nowhere (Atjazz Astro Black mix)" by Clara Hill, "My Vision (Dixon edit)" by Agora Rhythm, "Sun Of A Beach (London mix)" by Pharoah Roche, "Beatzeps" by Jaslopski, "Step Off" by Arken, "I Just Wanna Sing For You" by Norman Weeks & The Revelations, "So Long" by Nicola Kramer, and "No Memory Of Time (reggae version)" by Eva Be with Joe Dukie. CD

One of the best retro-modern groups we've heard in years – a very groovy combo who really know their bag! The approach here is steeped in 60s references – Hammond organ grooving with guitar, percussion, horns, and some sweet female vocals – the whole thing swinging with the energy of a hip soundtrack from the glory days! As proof of that, the group perform 2 great covers – Ray Brown's "Polo Pony" and Gert Wilden's "Sexy Girls" – but even their own tracks are pretty great, and include the groovy "Bon Voyage" and "Tango Pornographie". CD

A groundbreaking mix of tunes – early work by Thievery Corp, one of the best remix/producer teams of the past 10 years! The Thieves have a huge bag of influences to dip into – one that includes bossa grooves, easy melodies, and 70s electric funk, nearly all of which seem to come into play at one moment or another on many of the album's tracks. There's also a nice dubbed-out quality to the album – making it a downtempo classic with a really deep feel. Titles include "The Oscillator", "Interlude", "Encounter In Bahia", "The Glass Bead Game", "Incident At Gate 7", and "Shaolin Satellite". CD

With tracks by Kenneth Bagler, Sugar Daddy, Snow Patrol, Chris Coco and others 40 tracks total. CD

Wonderfully jazzy work from Micatone – a rich album filled with lots of lovely twists and turns, all of them coming off with a level of care and class that we wouldn't expect! The group's core is the instrumental combo – very heavy acoustic bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, vibes, and other jazzy sample bits – and some of the best tracks on the set feature vocals by singer Lisa Bassenge – singing in English, with a very accented tone, on moody and smokey tunes that really stand out from the usual retro jazz diva mode. The instrumental tunes are equally nice – a mixture of electronic club jazz and more classic elements – standing up quite well on their own with a depth of construction and solid instrumentation. Titles include "Plastic Bags & Magazines", "Sit Beside Me", "Another Road", "Sweet Child", "To The Sound", "Mon Coeur", and "Quiet Boy". CD

Another feather in the Six Degrees cap – and like the rest of their Brazilian music repertoire, an artist who seems bent on breaking down boundaries – both in styles and generations! Ceu's got the same "old is new" feeling as some of the label's other work in recent years – a mode that takes older bossa, samba, and other styles (including dub) – and reworks it using a lightly playful quality, and a relatively stripped-down feel overall. Instrumentation here is mostly acoustic – especially on the rhythms – but it does include some electric bits on keyboards and turntables, used lightly enough as to not interfere with the organic quality of the sound. Ceu's vocals are light, too – but also slightly raspy, in a way that makes them a lot better from some of the too-dreamy singing you might expect on a record like this. Titles include "Lenda", "Malemolencia", "10 Contados", "Vinheta Dorival", "Ave Cruz", "Concrete Jungle", "Vinheta Quebrante", "Samba Na Sola", and "Bobagem". (Brazil, New Grooves) CD

A fantastically soulful delight! The CD features a continuous mix of tracks handled by New York's supreme maestro Ron Trent – a perfectly blended and expertly selected batch of spiritual house, strident soul, and jazzy grooves. Not a bit of BS in the mix, and lots of rare sides lifted from singles on the Giant Step DJ pool – solid all the way through, and cutting a swath through the garbage to lift out the future of soul and club music! Titles include "Lamentations (you son)" by Carl Hancock Rux, "Future Love (original)" by Atlantis feat Naomi, "Stars (Tauriva mix)" by Jiva, "Elevation (Shelter late night voc)" by Blaze, "Naima" by Hipnotic, "Saturday Night Experience (Ron Trent mix)" by Jody Watley, "Rise (Sentinel Dome mix)" by Richard Worth, "Jingo (Aquamarine mix)" by Kalawang, "Do You Know" and "Holiday (DJ Deep & original)" by Donnie, and "When It Rains (Restless Soul rmx)" by Jeymes Samuel. CD

Loads of great percussion here – more than enough to warrant the album's striking cover image – and other instrumentation includes jazzy keyboards and vibes as well! The album's right up there with other recent projects on Japan's Routine label – a mix of older sounds and contemporary club jazz elements – although Aflex Combo features a bit more programming overall, handled by Keisuke Yamazoe, who's sort of the maestro behind the project! There's still plenty of live instrumentation too – the aforementioned vibes, played by Masami Watanabe of The Fascinations – plus piano, sax, keyboards, and even bagpipes on one groovy track. The percussion often seems programmed, but still retains an acoustic, organic quality – further bringing a classic feel to the set – and titles include "Something Blue", "Biliyala", "Intermezzo", "After The Rain", "The Latin Thing (AC Stomp mix)", "Sound Of Feeling", and "Magic Mood". CD